I don’t know about you, but my breath is bated.
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has called a press conference for 10 a.m. Wednesday in San Antonio and is expected to announce whether she will stay in the Senate for the rest of her term.
Sen. John Cornyn, her fellow Texas Republican, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will join her for the announcement. Cornyn confirmed on Twitter that he would be on hand but did not elaborate.
Hutchison’s aides could not be reached late Tuesday.
Hutchison said last fall that she would resign her Senate seat after the March primary for governor, which she lost handily to Gov. Rick Perry. But she has been very quiet about those plans since her loss, and several sources close to her have said in recent weeks that she was unsure about what the next step should be.
Texas Republicans in the U.S. House have encouraged her to finish her term, which ends in 2012. So have McConnell and Cornyn, and the fact that they will join her Wednesday could indicate that she’s going to stay in the Senate. A decision to stay would hardly come as a shock to most insiders, many of whom never believed that she would resign if she lost.
I guess that makes me an insider, because I sure as hell never believed she would quit. There really isn’t much else to say here, so let’s just take advantage of what may be the last time I’ll get to run this video:
I say it may be the last time because as always, nobody knows what KBH will do. When she starts floating trial balloons about maybe running for re-election in 2012, I’ll break it out again.
UPDATE: One wannabe replacement candidate down, several thousand more to go.
UPDATE: The circle is complete:
Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will announce Wednesday morning she will stay in the Senate, flip-flopping on her resignation promise that left several candidates eager for the chance to succeed her.
Sometimes this stuff is just too easy. I mean seriously, who is surprised by this?
Some Republicans argued that the GOP’s electoral fortunes in 2010 make it more than likely the party could hold onto the seat — and that the 2012 landscape could change dramatically, particularly if President Barack Obama is in a strong position to win reelection.
“This is a selfish decision but not a surprising one,” said one Republican who was eager for Hutchison to retire. “The wind is at our backs this year, and it was the best chance we had of getting a solid Republican in this seat. Sen. Hutchison has put the seat at greater risk by pushing the vacancy off until 2012. We have no idea what the political landscape will look like two years from now.”
You sure she’s not going to change her mind again and decide to run for re-election? Say it with me: Nobody knows what KBH is going to do. Why should 2012 be any different?
I’ll worry about what the 2012 landscape might look like another time. For now I’d be more concerned about what Democrat would be in the best position to win that seat. Yes, I know, we already have one running. Let’s just say I think we should keep our options open.
“Let’s just say I think we should keep our options open.”
Yes, indeed. John Sharp is the KBH of the Democratic Party.
“I don’t know about you, but my breath is bated.”
Wanna Altoid?
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